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Dunedin internship program partners with city to bolster skill development

 
Dunedin High student Ryan Powers, right, learns from section engineer Russell Ferlita at the wastewater treatment facility.
Dunedin High student Ryan Powers, right, learns from section engineer Russell Ferlita at the wastewater treatment facility.
Published Aug. 25, 2016

DUNEDIN — Entering his sophomore year at Dunedin High School, Ryan Powers still has plenty of time to decide what he wants to do with his life.

For now, though, the 15-year-old is thinking about computer engineering. He loved his introduction to information technology class last year, and has always enjoyed tinkering with computers.

And while most students like Powers would have to wait until college to get any sort of real-world engineering experience, he got an early start thanks to his school's internship program.

Powers spent the summer interning in the city's engineering department, assisting on projects with the city's water and other utilities. He's one of three Dunedin High students who interned with the city, the first time the school's internship program has partnered with the city.

The program began in 2014, after the school formed the Academy of Business Arts & Technology to teach students real-world business skills. Since then, more than a dozen students have completed summer internships with businesses and agencies in the area.

This summer, five students participated, with other interns working for Dunedin Public Library, the city's human resources department, Mease Manor retirement community and Achieva Credit Union.

Angie Wright-Nash, the Dunedin teacher who oversees the program, said the internships give students an invaluable opportunity to work in the professional world long before they have to decide on a career.

"When kids have the ability to take something that they learn in a classroom and apply it in a workplace, it provides them with experiences that prepare them for life," she said. "We can guide kids in the classroom; we can talk about 'workplace-appropriate' behaviors and attempt to teach them soft skills. When we give them internship opportunities and a real arena to be a professional, they learn what it's like to apply the learning, and that's worth everything."

Ryan Powers' older brother, Jacob, said he is utilizing skills he learned in his digital design classes as a marketing intern for Mease Manor this summer. His classes have trained him in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, which he uses to design ads for Mease Manor.

"It gives me an idea of the level I need to be at to be a digital designer," Jacob Powers, 17, said. "They showed me ads they've used in the past, and I have to create new ads that are just as good."

After only one year in high school, Ryan Powers hasn't had the chance to study technology as in-depth as his brother, but still said his internship with the city fuels his passion for computers.

"I've always worked with computers my whole life," he said. "It's just fun, and it's one of those things, like some people like tinkering around with cars, I like messing with computers to see what their full capacity is."

Powers' supervisor, Russell Ferlita, is a section engineer in charge of utilities and traffic, but said he has mostly given him tasks that match his interest in computer programming. Hopefully, Ferlita said, this "helps (Powers) decide if this is something he's interested in" as a course of study and career.

The internship "will give (Powers) a taste," Ferlita said. "Sort of like when you go to an ice cream place, and you get a little spoonful to get a taste of which ice cream you want to choose, this is sort of the same thing. We're giving him a little spoon of engineering to see if he likes it."

In order to participate in the internship program, students at Dunedin must have finished freshman year, passed or be enrolled in a business class, receive a recommendation from a business teacher and complete an application and interview process, Wright-Nash said. This year, all of the internships are paid, and students can work up to 20 hours a week.

Wright-Nash said the internship program sends students to different workplaces depending on the year, but she hopes the relationship with the city continues.

"I'd like to see the partnership with the city of Dunedin expand, meaning that perhaps we send more kids to the city moving forward," she said. "And I think it would be wonderful for interns to return for more than one year, to continue to build their professional skill set and to capitalize on the mentoring relationships they've built."

Dunedin Commissioner Heather Gracy, who helped facilitate the internship program's partnership with the city, agreed.

"There's mutual benefit to both (the students and the city) in that the city can leverage younger talent, and these students are talented," Gracy said. "What they're learning now can be applied technology-wise and work ethic-wise."

Ryan Powers said his internship with the city encourages him to develop those exact skills.

"It puts you into this real-world experience where the things you do matter," he said. "... And that just furthers your skills and makes you put confidence behind your work."